RaiderZ is now in open beta

I must admit, I had assumed RaiderZ to be a DayZ-inspired shooter a la The War Z, but it turns out to be nothing of the sort. Rather, it’s an MMO with a dynamic combat system in which finesse ain’t just a number among many. I also have a horrible feeling that its developers would have us pronounce the ‘Z’ in the title as a teen-cool ‘90s pluralisation, not as a separate syllable – but we’ll let that slide.

RaiderZ’s level cap has been raised to a nigh-on-middle-aged 35 as it enters open beta, and three new zones have been addded to the game: Rits, Riode and the Grand Wall of Silence.

“Of course, more zones mean new legendary monsters to fight,” say publishers Gameforge. “These dangerous beasts have been lying in wait for long ages, waiting to feast on unwary adventurers.”

RaiderZ is free-to-play, and Gameforge intend to pay its way via in-game shops. Items for purchase include resurrection stones, skill resets and costumes, all of which are now available in the beta.

Gameforge are confident that the item shop won’t cause any “game-changing upsets”, but tell players that they will be “monitoring the situation closely”, which is a reassuring sort of thing to say.

Numerous MMOs have made the change to free-to-play in the last few years. Have you had anything approaching a game-changing upset in Lord of the Rings Online or the games that have followed it?